physical planning implications of access to residential land and … · 2013. 4. 30. · foremost...

TS04B - Planning and Development - 6438

Julius Ajilowo Bayode Olujimi and Abdullateef Iyanda

Physical Planning Implications of Access to Residential Land and Legal Security of Tenure in Lagos Metropolis,

Nigeria

FIG Working Week 2013

Environment for Sustainability

Abuja, Nigeria, 6 – 10 May 2013

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Physical Planning Implications of Access to Residential Land and Legal

Security of Tenure in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria

Julius Ajilowo Bayode OLUJIMI and Abdullateef IYANDA, Nigeria

Key words: Access to Land; Security of Tenure; Spatial Planning, Residential Land; Lagos

Metropolis; Physical Planning.

SUMMARY

The consideration for land accessibility is vital to efforts to achieve efficient and sustainable

development of the human settlements. Lagos was the first amongst the Nigerian settlements

that benefitted from the colonial (formal) physical planning efforts and currently, it is the

foremost Nigerian commercial and industrial hub that enjoys unprecedented urbanisation.

These characteristics make the choice of Lagos metropolis for the investigation of access of

developers to residential land and security of tenure most appropriate.

The study adopted a random sampling method and selected 2,054 house-owners and

administered set of structured questionnaire that contained questions that probed into issues

on their accessibility to land and legal security of tenure. Another set of questionnaire was

differently designed to elicit information from other stakeholders (Land managers, Town

planning Agencies, Community/Family Heads etc). Data obtained from the primary source

were subjected to empirical analysis. The data were also complimented by secondary data.

The findings amongst others revealed the socio-economic characteristics of the house-owners,

means and duration of period of land acquisition, determinants of access to residential land,

and the implications on the securing planning permission, construction of illegal structures

and the quality of construction. Finally, the paper recommended amongst others intensive

monitoring of physical development by the use of geographical information system, over haul

of planning approval procedure and the promotion of site and services scheme




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Physical Planning Implications of Access to Residential Land and Legal

Security of Tenure in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria

Julius Ajilowo Bayode OLUJIMI and Abdullateef IYANDA, Nigeria

1. INTRODUCTION

The promotion of buoyant city economy is attracting the focus of both the government and

the governed in view of the existing global economic recession. In order to achieve this

laudable goal, urban residents should possess a reliable degree of security of land tenure that

guarantees legal protection against forced eviction, harassment and other threats (United

Nations, 1992). Legal security of tenure ensures adequate access to land on a secured tenure

basis and this enables the individuals and community to plan on a sustainable basis the use of

land without fear of involuntary removal or adverse “legal” claim of titles or ownership based

upon objectionable and unreasonable grounds that debars the occupants from future use of

land.

In Nigeria like many developing countries of the World, more people are attracted to the

urban centres on daily basis and majority of who are the urban poor. In spite of all the benefits

associated with tenure security, there are widespread conditions of insecurity of land tenure,

most especially amongst the urban poor. This might not be unconnected with the mode of

granting access to security of tenure. The procedure could be described as monetarily costly,

time consuming, unduly cumbersome and frustrating. The procedure is so staged-managed to

allow quacks (touts) and government officials to corruptly display their authority and selfishly

earn extra income. It is on this background that this paper investigated into the physical

planning implications of access to residential land and legal security of tenure in Lagos

metropolis with a view to promoting sustainable development of urban land through

unhindered access to residential land.

2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Concept of Urban Land Governance

Governance is defined as the exercise of political, economic and administrative authority to

manage a nation‟s or society‟s affairs (UNDP, 1997; FAO, 2007). Governance is concerned

with the process by which citizens participate in decision-making, how government is

accountable to its citizens and how society obliged its members to observe it rules and laws.

In other words, it is the way in which the society is managed and how the competing priorities

and interests of individuals and groups are reconciled. This is the basis to introduce the

concept of governance which is particularly important at the urban level and will grow in

importance within the next 30 years (Sheng, 2000).




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Governance embraces all of the methods “good and bad” – that societies use to distribute

power and manage public resources and problems (UN-Habitat, 2001). Good governance

means that government is well managed, inclusive, and result in desirable outcomes. The

principle of good governance can be made operational through equity, efficiency,

transparency and accountability, sustainability, civic engagement and security. Effective

democratic forms of governance rely on public participation, accountability and transparency

(UNDP, 1997).

A sound system of governance is essential for creating an enabling environment in which to

pursue sustainable land delivery. Although much has been written about the importance of

good governance in achieving development goals, there are comparatively little materials on

good governance in land tenure and administration (FAO, 2007). In conceptualizing

governance in relation to land delivery, a central aspect is no longer only that of the

government in land administration “per se”, but rather the quality of relationship between the

various realms of governance involved in legal land delivery. It includes the formal

institutions of government but also informal arrangements. Land issues cut across societies,

and a well-governed land administration system can strengthen local institutions, thereby

contributing broadly to governance. Good governance in land administration is one of the

central requirements for achieving good governance in society (UN-Habitat, 2002).

Effective land management is a subset of sound governance, wherein land issues are managed

effectively, efficiently and in response to legal land needs of the society. Good governance

can, therefore, be assessed in the extent to which land administrators ensure that people within

their boundaries have access to legal sites. Improvement in land administration can help

realize a society‟s commitment to democracy, the rule of law and human rights (FAO, 2007).

Differences in emphasis of good governance have significant policy implications. A land

administration system that is designed to enhance a pro-poor and gender-sensitive agenda is

likely to place a high priority on areas such as achieving security of tenure for lease and share

croppers, the recognition of informal and customary property rights and the development of

gender-neutral inheritance rights. A land administrative system designed to promote

economic development is likely to place the priority on areas such as the speed of re-

registration after sale, the speed and accuracy of searches to check for charges against

properties for loan purposes, the clarity of regulations for planning and building and the

procedures for changing land title. Land administration can benefit the poor as well as

promote economic development – at the same time, and with the same effort. In contrast, land

administration that serves a limited purpose makes an equally limited contribution to the

overall development of society (FAO, 2007).

Governance can be poor if government is corruptible, tyrannical, undemocratic, incompetent

and ineffective. Weak governance, whether in formal land administration or customary tenure

arrangements, means that the land rights of the poor are not protected. It affects the poor in

particular and may leave them marginalized. Weak urban land governance may also mean that

land is not used appropriately to create wealth for the benefit of the society. Weak governance

reduces security of tenure. Illegal transfers may cause legitimate owners or occupiers to lose




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their rights. Informal transfers and informal ownership are not protected by law, and the

protection offered by customary tenures may be weakened through external pressures, and

may not be extended to new comers. Those who capture the state may use land registration

systems to reinforce their claims to land, even when the land has been acquired through land

grabbing. Marginalized groups may have the evidence of their land rights suppressed by

officials. Weak governance leads to dispute. It provides opportunities for the powerful to

claim the land of others, including state.

Poor governance and bad land policies have led to land shortage and deteriorating living

conditions in many cities around the world. The weak and the most vulnerable segments of

the population in the Third World countries are excluded from legal residential sites.

Participation in governance is weak because the poor are socially, economically and

politically marginalized and have difficulty expressing opinions that will be heard by

government (UNDP, 1997). Consequently, poor urban land governance has denied the urban

poor of having access to legal residential sites. Hence, they resulted to the construction of

vulnerable houses in marginal areas or dangerous locations.

2.2 Concept of Housing Rights

Housing is an absolute necessity for human survival. It is one of the basic human needs, not

just a commodity to be consumed, but also a productive asset (Gamu, 2002; Agbola, 2005).

The Presidential Committee on Urban Development and Housing (2001) defined housing as

the process of providing a large number of residential buildings on a permanent basis with

adequate physical infrastructure and social services in a planned, decent, safe and sanitary

neighbourhoods to meet the basic special needs of the population.

As contained in Article 25 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1984),

everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of

himself or herself and of his or her family, including food, clothing, housing, medical care

and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment,

sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond

his or her control. Adequate housing has universally been acknowledged as an unquestionable

right of the individuals by the United Nations (Olayiwola, 2012).

However, housing rights has been classified as second-generation rights, which attracts less

attention than the purported first generation civil and political rights. The first generation

rights, that is, political and civil rights entail the rights normally guaranteed under the

fundamental rights chapter of the constitution. These include the rights to freedom from

torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, freedom of the press, right to association,

movement, fair hearing, etc (Shelter Rights Initiative, 2000 as cited in Ugochukwu, 2002).

The central concept in the evaluation of housing right is the issue of “adequacy”. Adequate

housing has been postulated by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and

Cultural Rights (UN Committee on ESC Rights) to mean legal security of tenure,

affordability, habitability, availability of materials, services and infrastructure, accessibility,




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location and cultural adequacy (Olatubara, 2003). Adequate housing encompasses more than

mere shelter or a mere roof and four walls. Adequate shelter according to Shelter Right

Initiative (2000), include adequate privacy, space, security, lighting and ventilation, basic

infrastructure and adequate location with regard to work and basic facilities all at a reasonable

cost. Also to be noted is the adequacy in terms of physical evaluation of housing which will

include considerations of the environment, the size and space of the rooms, water and

sanitation as well as problems associated with rental housing. Housing rights must equally

include prioritization of provision of, and equal access to, essential services - water, sanitation

and shelter (Ferguson, 1999).

2.3 Concept of Sustainable Human Settlements Development

The concept of sustainable human settlement was used in modelling the relationship between

housing and sustainability of urban/city development. Sustainable development as a concept

originated at the Stockholm Conference of 1972, and again was recognized in the 1987 report

titled „Our Common Future‟ of the World Commission on Environment and Development

(WCED). The Commission opines that sound, meaningful and real development needed

concerted efforts to protect the environment (The World Bank, 1996; 2003). Although

development cannot be uniform for all countries, states, local government areas, or cities but

there should be equitable and rational development, which should also be sustainable.

Economic and social development, which is essentially the conversion of natural/endowed

resources into productive assets, should be undertaken in such a way that promotes improved

quality of life of the people. Natural resources should be managed in ways that would

promote sustainable development, since natural resources depletion and environmental

degradation resulted from human activities are consequences of uncontrolled urbanization,

rising per capital production and consumptions and high technological development. In this

study, housing development is an essential component that can be used to promote sustainable

human settlement development.

3. THE STUDY AREA: LAGOS METROPOLIS

3.1 Geographical Location and General Characteristics

The Lagos metropolitan areas cover the 16 urban local government areas that make up the

Lagos metropolis as identified by the World Bank (2005). The same 16 local government

areas have been recognized by both the federal government of Nigeria and the National

Assembly in (2007) as making up the Lagos metropolis. These 16 LGAs as shown in Figure

1 are Agege, Eti-Osa, Ikeja, Ojo, Alimosho, Oshodi/Isolo and Ajeromi/Ifelodun, Amuwo

/Odofin, Ifako/Ijaye and Lagos Island. Others are Lagos Mainland, Surulere, Kosofe, Mushin,

Shomolu and Apapa. The Lagos metropolis which represents 37% of the state‟s total land

area accounts for 88.7% of the entire population of the Lagos State (Lagos State Economic

Summit, 2001). It covers an area of about 1,183 km2 out of the 3,577km

2 total land area of

Lagos State (George, 2002).




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Lagos metropolis consists of island endowed with creeks and lagoon. It comprises of

settlements that have grown from predominantly farming and fishing villages to urbanized

settlements. It is bounded in the west by Ojo and Ijanikin, Lekki Peninsula in the east and

Ikorodu and Alagbado towns in the north (see Fig1) Based on the United Nations (UN)

projection of population growth by the year 2015, Lagos should become the world‟s third

most populous city (IBLL, 1988). Consequence upon the population build up, it is not

unexpected, therefore to observe unusual pressure leading to unprecedented demand for land

(Agbola and Agunbiade, 2007) and legal security of tenure.

3.2 Land and Housing

The high rate at which the population of metropolitan Lagos is growing coupled with wide

expanse of water has significant implications for availability of land for residential

development. In Lagos Metropolis (in which more than 85% of the entire population of the

state is harboured on a portion of land representing just 37% of the state‟s total landmass),

demand for land for residential and industrial purposes out-strips real supply by far

(IBLL,1998).

In Lagos, there is a wide gap between demand for and supply of housing units. Housing

problem is worse in Lagos than any other city in Nigeria since it grows at a rate of 12 percent

annually while its estimated population was put at 13 million in 2006 (Mabogunje, 2006). The

inability of an average resident to own a secured residential plot or rent a decent housing has

led to the proliferation of slums and squatter settlements. At present, there are 53 slums and

squatter settlements in metropolitan Lagos. The population of residents in those settlements

run into hundreds of thousands (NEST 1991; Agbola and Agunbiade 2007).

Lagos Metropolitan Area is characterized by competition over land. Conflict over ownership

of land is typical of the city because of pressures from the members of land owning

communities popularly called “omo onile”, land grabbers and speculators, squatters,

organized private developers, public sector and cooperative societies.. Many of the houses

had sprung up as contraventions. Residential areas are heterogeneous and in most places,

physical developments are not planned, essential facilities are lacking and pose serious

constraints to sustainable metropolitan growth.




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Figure 1 Lagos State Highlighting the Lagos Metropolis

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Extensive reconnaissance survey of the 16 LGAs that made-up the Lagos metropolis was

carried out. This provided direct opportunity for the identification of the Enumeration Areas

and first-hand knowledge on the existing residential densities in the study area. The primary

data used for the study were sourced through field survey conducted with the administration

of questionnaires, interview and on-the-spot assessment through observations made during

site visitations. Two sets of questionnaires were used to elicit relevant primary data for the

study. The first set of questionnaire focused on the heads of households, who were home-

owners. The questionnaire contained questions that probed into location information, socio-

economic characteristics of the respondents and their housing characteristics such as nature of

tenure, means of gaining access to housing units and types of houses. Other questions also

probed on the determinants of access to residential land, legal security of tenure, means of

acquiring residential land, title documents possessed by respondents, and major factors that

determined access to land and legal security of tenure; among others

The multi-stage random sampling method was used for the administration of the house-owner

questionnaire. The first stage was the identification of the 16 Local Government Areas

(LGAs) that fall within metropolitan Lagos. At the second stage, simple random sampling

technique was used to select three enumeration areas (EAs) from each of the LGA. The

selected EAs in each LGA are true representatives of high, medium and low density

residential areas respectively. The third was the numbering of all the streets in each of the

selected EAs; and 5 streets were randomly selected. At the fourth stage; using Lagos Street

Map, a sampling frame was developed by listing all the residential buildings in the selected

streets. At the final stage, 5 percent of the residential buildings were selected using

systematic random sampling method. In each of the selected building, the house-owner was

picked for interview. However, where a house-owner was not available for interview, another

residential building where the owner is available was substituted. At the end of the survey,

2,054 house-owners were interviewed.




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The second set of questionnaire was designed to elicit information from other stakeholders

(Land managers, Town planning Agencies, Community/Family heads etc). Specific questions

in the questionnaire addressed the goals and objectives of land management authorities,

procedure for granting access to residential land and legal security of tenure, private sector

land allocation schemes and suggestions on how to improve access to secured residential

plots. Interviews were also granted to government officials responsible for land policy

formulation, management and administration in Lagos State. Data obtained from the primary

source were subjected to empirical analysis. The data were also complimented by relevant

secondary data

5. RESEARCH FINDINGS

5.1 Sex and Marital Status of Respondents

The analysis of data in Table 1 indicates that 1,479 (72%) respondents that were interviewed

are male while the remaining 575 (28%) are female. This is a typical reflection of any Yoruba

setting where male usually constitute the majority of household-heads The marital status of

respondents shows that majority with 76.8 percent were married and only 3.8 percent of the

entire respondents were singled ( often times, most of them are home-owners by inheritance).

Table 1: Marital Status and Sex of Respondents

Marital Status No. of Respondents Total

Male Female

Single 45 (56.2%) 35 (43.8%) 80 (3.8%)

Married 1,235 (78.3%) 342 (21.7%) 1577 (76.8%)

Separated 70 (63.1%) 41 (36.9) 111 (5.4%)

Divorce 49 (45.0) 60 (55.0) 109 (5.3%)

Widow/widower 80 (45.1%) 97 (54.9%) 177 (8.7%)

Total 1479 (72.0%) 575 (28.0%) 2,054 (100.0%)

Note: % in parenthesis / Source: Authors‟ Field work, 2007

5.2 Occupation and Income

Table 2: Main Occupation of Respondents

Occupation No of Respondents Total

Male Female

Retirees (Pensioners) 43 (72.9%) 16 (27.1%) 59 (2.9%)

Crafting 360 (67.5%) 173 (32.5%) 533 (25.9%)

Civil Service 134 (72.0%) 52 (28.0%) 186 (9.1%)

Teachers 51 (71.8%) 20 (28.2%) 71 (3.5%)

Trading 437 (76.3%) 136 (23.75%) 573 (27.9%)




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Company workers 64 (71.9%) 25 (28.1%) 89 (4.3%)

Medical personnel 61 (72.6%) 23 (27.4%) 84 (4.1%)

Other Professionals 118 (71.5%) 47 (28.5%) 165 (8.0%)

Unemployed 96 (72.2%) 37 (27.8%) 133 (6.5%)

Contractors 115 (71.4%) 46 (28.6%) 161 (7.8%)

Total 1479 (72.0%) 575 (28.0%) 2,054 (100.0%)

Note: % in parenthesis / Source: Authors‟ Field work, 2007.

The occupational structure of the respondents is shown in Table 2. Trading constitutes 27.9

percent of the respondents. The fact that trading activities constitute the highest is not

unconnected with the age long status of Lagos metropolitan city as the commercial nerve of

Nigeria. However, 76 percent of the traders are male while 24 percent that are female are

mostly found in the informal sector. About 25.9 percent were engaged in crafting which is

next in order of importance of occupation in Lagos metropolis. Other occupations that are of

relative importance are civil service with 9.1 percent of the respondents and practising

professionals (outside medical field) accounts for 8 percent while Contractors constitute the

7.8 percent. Others are teachers (3.5%), company workers (4.3%) and medical personnel

(4.1%) while retirees constitute only 2.9 percent of the entire respondents. However,

unemployed house-owners are fairly high with 6.5 percent respondents. One may continue to

wonder how unemployed individuals could own a house in Lagos; this group of house-owners

constitutes those who were formerly employed but lost their jobs, and unemployed house-

owners by inheritance (i.e. individuals that inherited residential buildings yet remained

unemployed). The implication of this is that the residents that are engaged in formal

employment are more favoured in the allocation of state secured residential plots. The

majority of house-owners that are engaged in business and other employments patronize the

informal land market to access residential land without legal backing. The fraudulent

activities of the quacks locally known as “omo onile” are creating fearful environment that is

making investment in the informal land market to be subjected to a very high risk. This

ultimately led to unplanned development in few residential areas in Lagos.

5.3 Income Level

The result of the analysis of income distribution of respondents is contained in Table 3 which

shows that 21.3 percent of the respondents earned less than N50, 000.00 per month. Those

that earned between N50, 000.00 and N100, 000.00 as well as respondents that earned N101,

000.00 – N150, 000.00 were coincidentally 22.15 percent. And respondents that earned

between N151, 000.00 and N200, 000.00 per month constituted 18.8 percent while 15.6

percent earned over N200, 000.00 per month. Despite the fact that 6.5 percent claimed to be

unemployed they all confirmed of earning income. This is to confirm that owning a

residential property in Lagos could serve as a steady source of income.

Table 3: Income per Month

Income (N) No. of Respondents Total

Male Female

<N50,000 Per Month 314 (71.9%) 123 (28.1%) 437 (21.3%)




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N50,000-N100,000 332 (73.0%) 123 (27%) 455 (22.15%)

N101,000-N150,000 326 (71.6%) 129 (28.4%) 455 (22.15%)

N151,000-N200,000 279 (72.3%) 107 (27.7%) 386 (18.8%)

Over N200,000 228 (71.0%) 93 (29.0%) 321 (15.6%)

Total 1479 (72.0%) 575 (28.0%) 2,054 (100.0%)

Note: % in parenthesis / Source: Authors‟ Fieldwork, 2007.

Most of the respondents have to supplement their meagre income with secondary activities

before they can have access to legal sites. The importance of income to this study is vital

because respondents with higher income are more likely to have access to residential land

with legal security because of the cost involved while the low income earners find it difficult

to secure access to legal sites; this means the poorer house-owners secure access in unplanned

sites, that are lacking in basic amenities for sustainable development. This situation only

improves if the processes and cost is reduced.

5.4 Pattern of Access to Residential Land

Accessibility is one of the most frequently used terms and yet little defined in urban and

regional studies (Ayeni, 1979; Olujimi, 2003). Also viewed from the same perspective,

Lasker et al (1981) argues that accessibility has a number of dimensions, thereby making it to

face both definitional and measurement problems (Gould, 1969). In the context of this study

“access” could best be described as “availability” and “affordability” of secured residential

land. In this section, pattern of access to house types, housing facilities, residential land and

legal security of tenure are examined. This section also discusses the views of the house-

owners on their experiences in acquiring residential land and legal security of tenure.

5.4.1 Sources of Securing of Residential Plots:

Respondents that claimed to have acquired land for housing development by different means.

Table 4 indicates that 63.9 percent of house-owners acquired land in private informal land

market through private purchase from original owners, land speculators, members of land

owning families popularly called „omo-onile‟ as well as land grabbers and their agents. Other

than land acquired through these means, 18.0 respondents acquired land from the state

through statutory allocation made by the LUAC. While 10.8 percent acquire land in private

formal land market through organized land developers, and 7.3 percent of the entire

respondents acquired land in areas designated by the Lagos State Government as ratified

areas; yet the principal law guiding ownership and use of land in Lagos, that is the Land Use

Act specifies Government as the owner of land from which individuals are suppose to obtain

permission before use. This result shows that accessibility to land for residential uses from

public is low. It also indicates that land belongs to families. It could be inferred that a more

aggressive solution requires the replacement of market mechanism with an alternative system

of land acquisition and land use determination based upon public ownership and control.

Table 4: Sources of cquisition

Means of No of Respondents Total %




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Acquisition

Male Female

Public Formal 250 (67.6%) 120 (32.4%) 370 (18.0)

Private Formal 151 (68.3%) 70 (31.7%) 221 (10.8)

Private Informal 978 (74.5%) 335 (25.5%) 1313 (63.9)

Ratified Area 100 (66.7%) 50 (33.3%) 150 (7.3)

Total 1479 575 2054 (100)

Note: % in parenthesis / Source: Author‟s Field work, 2007.

5.4.2 Duration for the acquisition of Residential Plots:

Duration time for land acquisition, as contained in Table 5 shows that only 13.1 percent

respondents acquired their residential plots prior to independence in 1960. Between 1961 and

1978, the time when the Land Use Decree now referred to Land Use Act (LUA) was enacted,

another 31.0 per cent acquired their residential plots. While 32.5 percent acquired their plots

between 1979 (immediately the LUA was enacted) and 1999, only 23.4 percent claimed to

have acquired their plots after year 2000. However, several factors may be attributed to this

perhaps, the most important one being the land tenure, land administration, and improved

economy in the study area. Further, it was discovered that most of the private informal land

owners has no legal status and so could not benefit from formal sector bank loans or

mortgage. On the other hand, the Government losses valuables revenue that would have

accrued, had the private informal access to residential land is recognized.

Table 5 : Time Taken to Acquired Residential Land (in weeks)

Time Taken

(weeks)

No of Respondents

Total % Male Female

1-4 229 (74.1%) 80 (25.9%) (309) 15.0

5-12 240 (72.7%) 90 (27.3%) 330 (16. 1)

13-24 370 70.5%) 155 (29.5%) 525 (25.6)

25-48 260 (72.2%) 100 (27.8%) 360 (17.5)

49 – 72 200 (72.2%) 77 (27.8%) 277 (13.5)

above 72 180 (71.2%) 73 (28.9%) 253 (12.3)

Total 1479 575 2054 (100)

Note: % in parenthesis / Source: Author‟s Field work, 2007.

The number of weeks taken in acquisition of land by respondents is contained in Table

5. It shows that 309 respondents (15.0%) claimed to have acquired their residential plots

between one to four weeks of search for them especially from private sources. Another 16.1

percent respondents acquired their residential plots between 5-12 weeks, 13-24 weeks

(25.6%), 25-48 weeks (17.5%), 49-72 weeks (13.5%) and more than 72 weeks (12.3%). The

implication of this is that the Period of land acquisition has impact on the number of houses

that are produced annually. The shorter the period involved in accruing land, the better, for




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development activities to take off. Without secured access, production of housing

development cannot take place.

However, further investigation shows that the land transaction is more complex than

this. Acquisition appears simple because majority of land owners obtained their land from

unofficial sources such as individuals and family. Thus, when land is purchased by people,

they still need to perfect the title document by obtaining Certificate of Occupancy as specified

by the Land Use Act. Besides, the fact that processing of this title document takes at least 6

months, it makes room for double payment for the same plot of land. Apart from those lands

acquired from government directly, field investigation reveals that owners will pay initial

owner of land and also pay the Government to obtain the title document.

5.4.3 Cost of Residential Plots:

Table 6 : Initial Cost of Residential Plot (N)

Cost (N)

No of Respondents

Total %

Male Female

N 200,000 235 (74.6%) 80 (25.4%) 315(15.3%)

N200,001- 500,000 535(72.0%) 208(28.0%) 743(36.2%)

N500,001-1 million 240(68.8%) 109(31.2%) 349(17.0%)

N 1.1-1.5 million 189(72.97%) 70(27.03%) 259(12.6%)

N 1.6-3 million 138(73.02%) 51(26.98%) 189(9.2%)

N 3.1-5 million 85 (72.7%) 32 (27.4%) 117(5.7%)

N 5.1-10 million 40(66.7%) 20(33.3%) 60(2.9%)

Above 10 million 17(77.3%) 5(27.7%) 22(1.1%)

Total 1479 575 2054 (100%)

Note: % in parenthesis / Source: Authors‟ Field work, 2007.

Initial cost of land as shown in Table 6 indicates that 15.3 percent of the entire respondents

acquired their residential plots for N200, 000 or less. While another 36.2 percent paid

between N200,001 and N500,000 for their plots, 17.0 percent claimed to have acquired their

plots at prices that range between N500,001 and N1 million. 259 respondents or 12.6 percent

of the respondents paid between N1.1– and N1.5 million for residential land, 9.2 percent

(N1.6 - N3 million), 5.7 percent (N3.1 - N6 million) as 2.9 percent (N5.1 - N10 million). Only

1.1percent of the entire respondents got their residential plots for more than N10 million. The

implication of this is that Cost of land in Lagos is very high and beyond the reach of majority

of the people that belong to the low-income groups (most especially women) who may not

have access to land for housing development. Only 15.3 percent of the respondents have

access to land with initial cost of N200, 000 or less. Hence, there is the need to come up a

programme that will facilitate home ownership.

5.5 Pattern of Access to Legal Security of Tenure




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After acquisition of residential plots, some house-owners applied for and obtained statutory

right of occupancy also known as Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) from the government.

Legal title documents possessed by the respondents include C of O for state land (10.3%);

private C of O (27.5%); ratification with C of O (3.7%); Governor‟s Consent (15.4%) and

Deed of Conveyance (11.2%). One hundred and eighty respondents, that is, 31.9 percent of

the respondents do not possess any legal title document. However, out of this, 153

respondents possess papers/receipts from the people that sold the plots. See Table 7. Most of

the respondents claimed that the process of obtaining legal title is expensive and laborious.

The major title known to most of the respondents is the building plan and registration and

even then, most of them do not have these documents.

A glance at Table 7 shows the number of state land with C of O, ratification with C of O

and private C of O submitted, approved and collected between year 2000 and 2007. As

indicated in the Table 7, the total number of applications submitted for State land with C of O

summed up to 28,777 but only 3,643 or 11.24 per cent were approved by the LUAC. In other

words, for eight years, land management authorities were able to grant security of tenure to

3,643 prospective property owners in government site and service schemes. The implication

of this is that on the average, land managers granted access to 455 state serviced residential

plot with C of O annually.

Table 7: Legal Title Documents Processed for Each Type of Residential Plots

Legal Title No of Respondents % of Total

C of O for State Land 211 10.3

C of O for Private Land 565 27.5

Ratification with C of O 75 3.7

Governor‟s Consent 316 15.4

Deed of Conveyance 230 11.2

Paper from the persons

who sold the plot

556 27.1

None 101 4.8

Total 2054 100.0

Source: Authors‟ Field work, 2007.

However, within the same period, land management authorities were able to process and

approved 13,174 private C of O and 8,666 ratification with C of O. The implication of this is

that in the eight year period, land managers were able to grant security of tenure to only

25,483 property owners. This is insignificant when compared to the teaming population of

Lagos which is now estimated to be around 14 million.

Table 8 : Submission of Application for C of O, Approved and Collected Between

2000 and 2007

Year Number of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O)

Received for Processing Approved Collected

State Ratificat Privat State Ratificat Privat State Ratif Private




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land ion e

Land

land ion e

Land

land icati

on

Land

2000 2035 487 612 0 5872 6010 0 383 531

2001 6017 686 1007 0 347 748 15 304 820

2002 3734 699 1013 300 421 1072 389 626 1078

2003 3553 611 942 570 479 1100 54 403 972

2004 3821 604 911 202 944 8 241 1042

2005 3195 424 943 351 878 79 295 738

2006 3933 17 1333 1331 158 1324 874 144 841

2007 2489 - 824 1442 236 1098 1577 274 715

Total 28,777 3528 7585 3643 8066 13174 2996 2670 6737

Averag

e 63995

882 1686 1041 1792 2928 666 593 1497

Source: Bureau of Lands, Governor‟s Office, Alausa, Lagos State (2007).

Paired t-test was also used to test the hypothesis, which states that there is a significant

difference between the need for and the granting of access to state land with C of O. The test

compared the difference in means of number of applications submitted for State land with C

of O and the number of such applications that were eventually granted approval by the

LUAC. The paired t-test result as contained in Table 9 shows that the t-value is 13.131 at 95

degree of freedom and is significant at 0.01 level (i.e. 99% confidence level). A probability of

0.000 indicates that there is a significant difference between the need for and the granting of

access to state land with C of O. Thus, the hypothesis which states that there is a significant

difference between the need for and the granting of access to state land with C of O is

accepted.

Table 9: The Paired Sample t-test Result of Male and Female Access to State Serviced

Residential Plots

Variables Pairs

Paired Differences

95% Confidence Interval

of the Difference

t

df

Sig.

(2-

tailed)

Mean

Std.

Deviation

Std.

Error

Upper Lower

Applications for

State Land with

C of O

Submitted and

Approved

261.81250 195.36241 19.93909 301.39660 222.22840 13.

131

95 .000*

Source: Author‟s Fieldwork Analysis, 2008 / * = Significant at 0.05 Level

6. IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS




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As a result of insecurity of tenure that characterized parallel land markets, poor households

are left to build whatever type of dwelling they want or can afford without any imposed

obligation to conform to planning regulations. Plate1 shows a building that contravens

planning regulations in the informal settlement of Oshodi. The issue of contravention has

contributed to the problem of informality and illegality of housing. In metropolitan Lagos,

informal and illegal houses exist and expand because of the inadequate provision for land, a

tendency towards over-regulation and an administrative and institutional framework that is, at

best indifferent and more likely-hostile to the need of the urban poor.

The state of most dwellings in informal/illegal settlements is unimaginably appalling. In some

places, residents are usually crowded in very limited space and the rooms usually lack

adequate ventilation. Uncompleted houses that are being inhabited are common. Majority of

the houses can be described as shelter rather than housing. For some residents, the living

room is the sleeping room, the kitchen as well as the store. Illegal houses are neither legally

recognized nor serviced by the public authorities. Many of the so-called landlords in these

deprived zones have no title to land.

Apart from poverty, insecurity of tenure is one of the reasons why some of the houses are

constructed with poor building materials. This would minimize loss in case of forced

eviction. Some of the houses can be described as shacks and shanties – with dilapidated and

near collapsing structures. The houses are characterized by absence or poor maintenance of

basic public utilities and infrastructure such as water, sewage systems, waste disposal, roads,

public transport and electricity. Several residents of the informal/illegal houses live in life

and health-threatening homes because of the very poor housing conditions and the lack of

adequate provision for safe, sufficient water supplies provision for sanitation, drainage and

the removal of garbage. (see Plate.2).

Plate 1: A Building that Contravens Planning Regulation in Oshodi.




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Source: Author‟s Field work, 2009.

Plate 2: Informal/illegal houses near a waste dump in Ijora

Source: Author‟s Field work, 2009.

By constraining access to residential plots in formal land markets, land officials ensure that

low-income groups (women included) are excluded from formal locations. The spatial

distribution of slums and squatter settlements indicates that “spontaneous” and illegal houses

emerge from parallel land markets. To a large extent, the map of informal/illegal land markets

overlaps the map of slums and squatter settlements. In Metropolitan Lagos, more than one




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million people live in blighted areas. In slums and squatter settlements, the urban poor live in

worst quality land on the edges of canals, creeks, lagoon, and slopes/hillsides liable to

collapse, in densely packed areas where fire can easily start and busy intersections. Insecurity

of tenure contributed largely to poor living condition and low standard of living. Residents of

squatter settlements do not have any legal title document and are thus prevented from taking

any mortgage loan from any bank, thus, compounding their problems. Within a short time,

such residents create serious social problems to government because it becomes so difficult to

either evict them or provide facilities for them.

Plate 3 : Typical Shacks and Shanties Residential Developments on Government

Acquired Land Along First Avenue FESTAC Town

7. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

Land administrators should not underestimate their roles in conjunction with other

professionals in the built environment in allocating, adjusting, protecting and changing the

ways by which people hold rights to land. Therefore, land management policy that would

encourage good and effective titling benefits both for the present generation and posterity is a

necessity. Therefore, the Federal government constituted Mabogunje Land Review

Committee which was recently headed and taken-over by Prof Adeniyi should suggest

amongst others a policy that would account for every available piece of land in all parts of the

country is properly documented and registered through the use of Geographical Information

System. This is to allow for proper accountability, allocation, and intensive monitoring of the

usage of land particularly in the metropolis.




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The „OMO ONILE’ Syndrome that was originally known as „Lagos metropolitan affairs‟ in

land development scenario is gradually extending to the rural suburbs of Lagos metropolis

and even outside Lagos State to other major cities in the South Western Nigeria. There is the

need to check this scenario before it becomes a national problem. The Traditional Rulers and

the Community Leaders should bring a check to this through the instrumentality of their

offices.

The planning approval procedure in Lagos State needs to be made less cumbersome to

eliminate the infiltration of quacks. Most of the Planning Authorities are grossly understaffed;

a situation that has created rooms for improper monitoring of physical development and

unabated construction of illegal structures. Therefore, additional physical planning staff

amongst others should be recruited and equipped with relevant monitoring facilities.

Government at all levels should promote the „Site and Service Scheme‟. This should be seen

as a welfare programme to check the development of urban sprawl and the establishment of

informal settlements. The existing informal and illegal settlements cannot be left unattended

to. Therefore, they should be regularised and given face-lift with human face and guarantee

security of tenure to the residents. It is therefore necessary that adequate care must be taken

to ensure that residents of informal and spontaneous settlements are not forcefully evicted and

displaced without caring for their sustenance during the period of the upgrading of the

settlements. The displace residents should not be priced out of what eventually emerged as the

result of the up-grading due to their inability to afford the cost of the improved land and

physical development.

REFERENCES

1. Agbola, S.B. (2005) „The Housing Debacle‟. An Inaugural Lecture delivered on the

4TH

August, 2005, at the University of Ibadan.

2. Agbola, T. and E.M. Agunbiade (2007). Urbanization, Slum Development and

Security of Tenure: the Challenges of Meeting Millennium Development Goal

(MDG) 7 in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria. Paper Presented to the PRIPODE workshop

on Urban Population, Development and Environment Dynamics in Developing

Countries Jointly organized by CICRED, PERN and CIESIN with support from the

APHRC, Nairobi, 11- 13 June 2007, Nairobi, Kenya

3. Ferguson, C (1999) Global Social Policy and Principles: Human Rights and Social

Justice. Social Development Unit, Department for International Development,

London.

4. Gamu, A. F. (2002). Land Management as a Veritable tool for Sustainable

Development. Land Management & Property Tax in Nigeria, op. cit., pp. 133-147.

5. International Business Links Ltd.( IBLL) (1998). Welcome to Lagos State: an

Authoritative Guidebook on Lagos state. International Business Links Ltd, Lagos.

6. Mabogunje, A.L. (2005) „Global Urban Poverty Research Agenda : The African

Case‟. A Paper presented at the Seminar on Global Urban Poverty organized by the




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Comparative Urban Studies of Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars

held on 15TH

December, 2005 in Washington.

7. Olatubara, C. O. (2003). The Participation of Women in Residential Location

Decision-Making in Ibadan, Nigeria. Journal of the Nigerian Institute of Town

Planners, XVI (October): 19-34.

8. Olayiwola, L.M. (2012) „The Journey through the Corridor of Housing‟ Inaugural

Lecture Series No 252, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

9. Sheng, Y. K. (2000). Sustainable Strategies for The Provision Of Low Income

Housing In Cities In Developing Countries. City Development Strategies Issue, No. 3,

Second Quarter. City Development Strategies Initiative, London.

10. Ugochukwu, B. (2002). Legal Security of Tenure and Community Development.

Special Publication of Shelter Rights Initiative on Human Rights and Community

Development on Human Rights And Community Development, Pp. 20-25.

11. UNCHS (1976). Human Settlements and the Urban Poor: Specific

Recommendations. United Nations Centre for Human Settlements, Vol. 2, No.2.

12. UN-Habitat (2002) The Global Campaign on Urban Governance, Environment and

Urbanization, Nairobi.

13. UN-HABITAT (2003). Land In An Urbanizing World. Habitat Debate, December,

2003.

14. United Nations (1992). UN Document E/1992/23.

15. The World Bank, (1996) „Nigeria: Poverty in the mist of plenty: The Challenge of

Growth with Inclusion‟ The World Bank, Washington, D.C.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

1. Julius Ajilowo Bayode OLUJIMI is a Professor of Urban and Regional Planning. He is a

fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, and a Registered Town Planner. He

lectures at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Federal University of

Technology, Akure, Nigeria.

2. Abdullateef Iyanda BAKO holds a Doctoral degree in Urban and Regional Planning. He

is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners. He is a Registered Town Planner and

a Planning Consultant in Lagos, Nigeria.

CONTACTS:

Prof. Julius Ajilowo Bayode OLUJIMI and Dr. Abdullateef Iyanda BAKO

Federal University of Technology,

Department of Urban and Regional Planning,

Akure, Ondo State,

NIGERIA.

+234 8034540637

[email protected]